Lachlan Strachan stars as Macquarie defeats South Dubbo

But on Saturday he produced the type of all-round performance many in the RSL-Whitney Cup are accustomed to and he's hopeful it can reinvigorate Macquarie's finals hopes.

Strachan took 2/27 from his eight overs against South Dubbo on Saturday before belting 92 to lead the Blues to their first win since December 11.

The slump in form had resulted in the Blues falling from top spot on the ladder to outside the finals places.

READ ALSO:

- Comeback falls short as errors cost Rams in crucial Andrew Johns Cup contest

- Quicks and Keen's class decide a derby battle filled with 'positive banter'

- ON THE MOVE | Player signings for the 2022 Peter McDonald Premiership

Strachan admitted it had been a disappointing and frustrating run of results, but he said Saturday's win over a spirited Hornets side was a much-needed boost.

"Having so many people in and out has been really hard and having Colts and CYMS beat us so convincingly has not been good for the confidence," Strachan said.

"But hopefully we can get back on track and score some runs and get back into those old Macquarie ways."

Run-scoring has been the biggest issue for Macquarie since the Christmas break.

It was only three weeks ago when the Blues were rolled for a paltry 45 by RSL-Colts but on Saturday Strachan hit his side back into form.

It was needed as well after Souths had posted a competitive 5/185 when batting first.

Hugh Ridley (48) and the returning Will Lindsay (35) led the way for the Hornets but Macquarie's bowling attack never allowed them to get away too much.

Strachan did a job with the ball along with stand-in captain Myles Smith (2/38) and Ben Strachan (0/22 off eight).

The younger Strachan then opened the batting in the chase and took it to Souths immediately, hitting 10 off the first over.

He didn't slow down from there, putting on 61 for the first wicket with Hugh Sienciewicz (16) before combining with Myles Smith in a match-winning partnership.

Strachan dominated the partnership and when Smith fell for 38 the score was 2/148 and victory was in reach.

Just eight runs short of a century Strachan was runout, but the damage was done and Ben Strachan (12 not out) and Keiran Brien (20 not out) wrapped up the seven-wicket win in 29 overs.

"It was just see the ball and hit the ball," Strachan said of his match-winning knock.

"I haven't really been in great form since Christmas, to be honest, I've hardly scored a run.

"But I went out and tried to hit the ball and put pressure on the bowling attack and I was pretty lucky it came off."

The victory was also satisfying considering Macquarie was again down on troops.

Captain Ricky Medway, Jason Green and Blake Smith were among those unavailable but they will still play a key role in the Blues' finals bid.

Saturday's win, combined with Newtown's loss to CYMS, means Macquarie is now just two points off the all-important third place.

"Just getting a win and getting everyone up and about again was great," Strachan said, before looking forward to the final four rounds of the regular season.

"Our bowling has been really good throughout the year but the batting has been letting us down.

"The top order just needs to start getting some runs. Our bowling has been carrying so if we can get it right with the bat against CYMS, Colts and Newtown that would be really great.

"They've been dominant against us, which is not a good sign, but hopefully we can push on a bit now."

Macquarie meets competition leaders CYMS next weekend in another crucial fixture.

CYMS remains top but is still under pressure from a Colts side that was given a scare by Rugby in the annual Danny Bower Cup match on Saturday.

The two sides met in the annual club day battle and it proved to be a gripping contest on a Lady Cutler 2 pitch which was tricky to bat on for much of the day.

While Ben Wheeler hit a couple of early boundaries after Rugby won the toss and batted, he fell soon after and he was followed by James O'Brien (12).

Jacob Hill (22) and Nathan Munro (32) stabilised things but once they were removed by Mitch Bower (2/28) and Ben Taylor (3/9) respectively there weren't many more highlights for Rugby.

Rugby managed just 100, with Tom Howarth (3/17) doing damage late on.

While it wasn't a huge total, Rugby has a knack of lifting against Colts and they did so again on Saturday.

Colts was left reeling at 4/19 early on, thanks largely to three wickets in one over for left-arm quick Lawson Shepherd (3/39).

But Colts' strength in depth again came to the fore as Ant Atlee (24) and then Jason Ryan (16 not out) and Josh Smith (22 not out) secured a four-wicket win.

In the day's other match, CYMS produced a gutsy performance to down Newtown.

The Tigers had CYMS in real trouble at 4/54 and runs were proving hard to come by. But Thomas Nelson (50 not off 93) dug in and played the anchor role while Ben Knaggs came to three crease late on and banged 50 not out from 40 balls to get CYMS to 6/169.

The chase went down to the final over as Mat Skinner (34) kept his side in the game but CYMS' consistency with the ball resulted in them scoring a 21-run win.

Ben Patterson and Brock Larance claimed three wickets each while Knaggs finished a strong all-round game by chiming in with two wickets.

Matt Purse had earlier taken 3/25 for Newtown.

The result leaves CYMS on 63 points at the top of the table while Colts is 60 and Newtown is eight points further back.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: